Teamwork used to draw tourists

Carmen Ryan, 8, of Brookings and Olivia Clark, 6, of Ashland play inside a bubble Wednesday at the ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum. Usually about 80 percent of museumgoers come from outside Ashland. That fell to 50 percent this summer, likely due to high gas prices, said Mark DiRienzo, interim executive director for the museum. Jamie Lusch | Daily Tidings

Businesses, nonprofit groups and the city government are teaming up to draw visitors during the traditionally slow months for tourism in Ashland from January through April.

Their efforts could be even more crucial given the national economic recession.

The Ashland Chamber of Commerce is promoting Seasons of Romance packages that cover a one-night stay for two in an Ashland hotel or inn. Package prices start at $140 and include $75 worth of vouchers that can be used at participating restaurants, stores and galleries.

The vouchers can also be used at several special events that draw tourists in late winter and spring, including:

— the Rogue Valley Blues Festival, Jan. 16-18;

— the Oregon Chocolate Festival, March 6-8;

— the Mt. Ashland Ski Area's Skiesta promotion during March;

— the Ashland Independent Film Festival, April 2-6

— and the Ashland Gallery Association's A Taste of Ashland tour of galleries with art, wine and food, April 24-26.

The vouchers can't be used at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which starts its 2009 season on Feb. 13, but OSF is offering $40 tickets for people who buy a Seasons of Romance package.

For even less expensive tickets, OSF sells C Section seats for $20 to anyone, subject to availability.

Details about the packages, including information on the participating businesses and festivals, are on the chamber's Web site, www.ashlandchamber.com.

The chamber is e-mailing information about the packages to people who are in its visitor database. It's also working with travel writers in Bend and Redding, Calif., to cover the promotion, said Katharine Flanagan, director of marketing and the Chamber's Visitor and Convention Bureau. There will also be newspaper, magazine and radio ads, she said.

Economic and Cultural Development grant funding from the City of Ashland — which comes from the city lodging tax — is helping to fund the promotion of the packages, Flanagan said.

The city raised the amount of money it gave to the chamber for tourism promotion from $85,000 last fiscal year to $225,000 this fiscal year, Flanagan said.

"That enables us to broaden our market reach for this promotion. It's that crucial element. The city is relying on the Ashland Chamber of Commerce Visitor and Convention Bureau to promote all of Ashland," she said. "How better to do that than to promote these events?"

The city did lower the amount it gives to the chamber for economic development from $165,000 last fiscal year to $80,000 this fiscal year. Flanagan said even with less money, the chamber is continuing its economic development activities, which include sending Rapid Response Teams of chamber staff and local business owners to help other business owners who are thinking about expanding or moving to Ashland.

Joining forces

Ashland Springs Hotel is just one of the hotels and inns taking part in the Seasons of Romance package promotion.

Don Anway, general manager of the hotel, said the packages allow visitors to choose from among the various businesses and festivals.

"The key this time of year is giving people options so they can create their own experience. It includes an overnight stay and vouchers so they can create their own package based on what their interests are," he said.

Although the hotel has conferences year-round that bring people to Ashland, the first three months of the year are generally slower and the hotel focuses on drawing the "leisure guest," Anway said.

In addition to taking part in the Seasons of Romance promotion, Ashland Springs Hotel is forming its own partnerships with the Varsity Theatre and local spas by offering package deals, Anway said.

"The key is working together. It's not all about one business. We need to pull together in these tough economic times," he said.

Ashland Independent Film Festival Executive Director Tom Olbrich said film festivals that took place in the fall — when the economic turmoil began — had lower attendance rates.

Since Ashland's film festival happens in the spring, he's uncertain what the effects will be.

But the film festival is keeping its staff small, trimming office expenses and reaching out to supporters to remind them of the importance of their memberships. As of Dec. 31, memberships were equal to last year, Olbrich said.

He said Jefferson Public Radio is a major sponsor of the film festival. The public radio network has a reach from Northern California into many parts of Oregon.

Other local business sponsorships are down, however, he said.

Like many other local nonprofit groups, the film festival is also a recipient of city Economic and Cultural Development grant money.

Festival staff are continuing to work with members of the press in Eugene, Portland, Sacramento and San Francisco. Film critics from The Oregonian and the San Francisco Chronicle help judge festival films, Olbrich said.

Shawn Levy, a film critic for The Oregonian, did two major articles about the 2008 festival, Olbrich said.

Film festival staff members and volunteers are looking through 800 film entries to narrow the field down to 80 films. Because the films that will be shown at the festival haven't been chosen yet, Olbrich said he doesn't know whether some filmmakers will forgo a trip to Ashland because of economic troubles.

"Our film entries are significantly up — about 100 more this year than last year. But submitting a film is different than purchasing a plane ticket and flying somewhere," he said.

Teamwork working

The neon sign for Omar’s glows against a night sky Tuesday along Siskiyou Boulevard in Ashland. Jamie Lusch | Daily Tidings

The ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum in Ashland saw a big dip in out-of-town visitors over the summer.

Usually about 80 percent of museumgoers come from outside Ashland. That fell to 50 percent this summer, likely due to high gas prices, said Mark DiRienzo, interim executive director for the museum.

But a City of Ashland economic and cultural development grant allowed ScienceWorks to create a promotional video, he said.

Coming Attractions, which has movie theaters throughout Oregon, California and Washington, donated time for the ScienceWorks ads to run before movies. Those ads starting playing in late summer.

DiRienzo credits the ads and falling gas prices for boosting out-of-town attendance at the museum back up to 75 percent of visitors during the weeks around Christmas and New Year's Day.

During those weeks, ScienceWorks also had Zip Code Days, which allow people from surrounding areas to visit the museum for a discount on certain days.

"It's year-round tourism we can generate," DiRienzo said. "People want an excuse to come to Ashland. ScienceWorks provides something unique, especially for a small town."

As part of the town's Festival of Light during December, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival hosted Santa Claus in its downtown welcome center. Families from as far away as Portland and Redding, Calif., came to get free photos with Santa, Flanagan said. The event attracted 500 to 600 children. The Ashland Chamber of Commerce invited people to sign up to receive e-mail alerts about special events and promotions, she said.

The chamber is continuing to work on more ways to draw visitors year-round. This year marks Oregon's 150th anniversary, so chamber members are brainstorming 150 reasons to visit Ashland, Flanagan said.

"There's always something to do in Ashland 365 days a year," she said.

Staff writer Vickie Aldous can be reached at 479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.